A Quiet Christmas
by enchantment1972
Summary: Hoping to avoid the hustle and bustle of the season, the Doctor surprises Rose with a Christmas all their own at home. **Sixteenth of the Forever After series**


**Author's Note:** I usually write a Christmas story and this year I wrote it for the Supernatural fandom. And then all of a sudden it hit me how much I miss acknowledging Christmas for this 'verse as it's my favorite. So here's just a brief glimpse of the Doctor and Rose that almost wasn't. :)

The Doctor's reference about using Jake's credit card is from Blast To The Past Chapter 6. Poor Jake doesn't find out about it until the first chapter of Size Matters.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything in relation to Dr. Who.

Christmas Eve finds the Doctor and Rose snugly ensconced on their sofa while they watch as the glow of the Christmas tree lights draw on the branches to cast patterns onto the ceiling.

Turning his head to the side, the Doctor gazes down at the Christmas card currently sitting on the table that they had sent out to all of their family and friends. He smiles at how well it came out as it displays the two of them wearing St. Bob hats and brandishing candy canes as they hang out of the blue police phone box that they have downstairs.

He groans inwardly as he also remembers how Jack had immediately set down the camera as soon as the photo was taken and shouted, "My turn!" before barreling into the mock TARDIS and cramming them all inside. Unfortunately a little too tightly as it soon became very apparent that the three of them were completely stuck and remained so for the next half hour. At least until Donna used up the last of the film to document their latest misadventure while laughing her ginger haired head off.

The Doctor was quite hurt at the amount of time that it took Donna to come to their aid, especially after all of the trouble that he had went to procure her gift. True, he had Jack find out what she had wanted for Christmas and then sent him down to pick it up once he had ordered it, and he had borrowed the money from Jake to pay for it. Well…more like used his credit card without his knowledge but was it his fault that as a Time Lord he has perfect total recall of everything that he has ever done which just happens to include previously using Jake's credit card at the D & D Bistro?

Besides, the way that he looked at it, he was helping Jake to build up his credit rating. In truth, Jake should be thanking him for being so thoughtful. _Oh!_ And while he's thinking about it, he better finish ordering that industrial heater for the banana nursery, what with the weather turning so cold and all. It wouldn't do to let the temperature drop before his latest crop ripened, not if he wants a top banana.

He pulls his mobile from his pocket and finishes typing in the transaction that he had started earlier. _There, all done. _Jake shouldn't mind one more trivial expense on his card, it is Christmas after all and he'll make it up to him. _I know, I won't even ask for that extravagant a present this year, just something simple like a bit of free access to the Alien Artifacts room while he keeps Donna busy. Yes_, _I believe that sounds more than fair._

He stares with disdain at the marmalade gift basket that they had received from one of Rose's society friends while simultaneously hoping that Jake would appreciate the gift. Unfortunately the Doctor himself had not enjoyed the various selections of jams and jellies that had been chosen for them but perhaps Jake's tastes would be able to find some form of gratification where he could not. However, what was a more worrying matter to the Doctor was whether or not he had smoothed down his finger prints inside the jam pots into posh enough swirls. After a few dips into each jar, he knew that the flavors weren't to his liking but that didn't mean that they should go to waste. And Jake had been used to sleeping in old abandoned factories when he was a Preacher on the hunt for any remaining Cybermen, it didn't stand to reason that he would be so particular as to notice or even mind a finger dip or two.

Settling back into the cushions, the Doctor and his Rose listen to all the old Christmas favorites on the radio being featured by Bits of the Hits to put listeners in the mood for the upcoming St. Bob's Search for the Grouse Who Stole Christmas Presents! Feeling full of peace and good will, the Doctor snuggles down into the blanket while he reflects on Christmas' past in this new world.

As Christmases go, they haven't been all that bad he supposes, simply a bit odd and unfamiliar at times. But of course isn't that what always draws him to something that leads to such an exciting and new discovery? He sighs contentedly under the blanket as Rose curls into him. St. Bob's not so bad he muses, definitely a fierce contrast in comparison to Father Christmas, but not so bad, at least as long as he's not being forced to dress up like him or his sidekick. He stares at the silver framed photo sitting up on the shelf from last year's Christmas Parade with him standing there as some pink fur-lined nightmare or a pathetic cross between a goggle adorned pink harlequin and a purple Care Bear.

His sigh turns into a groan prodding Rose to ask, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing much, love," he promises with a kiss atop her head, "just remembering last year's Christmas parade."

She glances over at the parade photo and offers him her sympathy in the form of a kiss on the cheek and a cuddle. "You were such a good sport!" she praises while squeezing him around the middle as he stares back at her with a knowing gaze at what she's trying to do and determinedly wearing a stubborn pout. "And I was so proud of you when I heard everyone cheer for you as you drove by and if you could have seen the look on Tony's face, Doctor!" He peers over at her with a slight smile. "It was wonderful, to see Tony and all of them so happy, and to know that you were the reason for all of that," she leans her head on his chest and peers up at him with twinkling eyes, "I can't even tell you how it made me feel."

The Doctor's growing smile suddenly changes into a smirk as he notes, "Pretty happy if the glimpses of your clutching the lamppost as you and Donna doubled over in laughter were anything to go by."

"Oh," inquires Rose innocently with widening eyes, "you saw that?"

"Yes," he replies as she emits a squeak when he gives her a tight squeeze, "I saw that." He pulls her closer to him and rests his head on top of hers. "I thought you were rather restrained actually, I don't know that I would have behaved much differently had I been in your place."

Rose gives a slight shudder. "Can you imagine, me in skintight spandex and fur?" She shakes her head to clear the image. When he continues to remain silent she moves away to peek at him and sees him gazing off in the distance with a glazed expression and his tongue running along his bottom lip. She swats his arm while laughing at him. "Ewww! Doctor, please!"

"What?" he questions ingenuously. "You suggested it," he grins filthily at her, "I just filled in the gaps."

Her laughter increases and she rolls her eyes at him in exasperation. "You weirdo, you are _so_ alien!"

"Half-alien now," he reminds her with a smile. "Although to be fair, it's Donna's DNA that causes any undue weirdness." His stomach issues a soft growl and he asks, "Fancy a snack?"

"Maybe, what do you have?" queries Rose.

He lifts the basket of goodies up off the floor and into his lap to go through the basket. "We have banana muffins, banana bread, banana cupcakes…"

"Do you have anything that's not banana?" requests Rose impatiently as she recalls the cookbook featuring nothing but 500 different ways to fix bananas that he had heard about and had practically browbeaten poor Liane Piper over to search and find for him until he would finally allow her a moment's peace.

"Of course there is Rose, you know how much I love variety!" He digs a little deeper into the basket and pulls out two containers. "I also have ball bearing pudding and jelly babies mixed inside a gelatin mold."

"That's lovely Doctor," she acknowledges dryly, "do you also have a few injections of insulin to bring our blood sugar back to normal?"

He makes a face at her before removing the last two remaining containers. "Here you go, I made some fish fingers for protein and there was some plain custard that was about to go off so I mixed that up for good measure."

"Fish fingers and custard, that's all we have for tea?" She snorts in amusement. "That's what I get for letting Tony help you make up the snacks." Out of curiosity, she dips a fish finger into the custard and takes a bite and chews thoughtfully. "You know, it's not half bad, Tony might just have something here."

The Doctor's lip curls up in revulsion. "That's disgusting, Rose!" He averts his gaze as she repeats the process, this time with much more enthusiasm. He holds his head up high in the air and haughtily insists, "Lips that touch that will never touch mine!"

Rose loudly smacks her lips together and goes, "Mmmmmm," into his ear as she takes another bite with relish. "I guess you won't be taking advantage of my mouth then," she remarks as she licks a few traces of custard off her upper lip with her tongue.

The Doctor stares mutely at her for mere seconds before relenting. "Well, I wouldn't go that far!" He drops a quick kiss onto her lips and grins. "I mean, it's not like it's pears!"

Hoping to change the subject, the Doctor claps his hands together and comments, "It's a bit nippy in here tonight!" He reaches over to a table stand and grabs two boxes and eagerly hands one to Rose. "Perhaps these might help," and he opens his box to reveal a pair of gloves. He slides them on with ease and wriggling his fingers about in relief, he sighs, "Ahhh, that's better! These are just the things for my manly hands!"

Rose bites her lip as she looks down at the pair she's holding before she clears her throat. "Um, love? Those aren't your gloves, they're mine. See?" She holds up a glove and tugs at the tag that states 'Men's Gloves'.

Staring at the tag in horror, he hurriedly whips off the gloves and throws them into her lap while snatching the men's gloves away from her. "Are you sure that you don't want to keep them?" she teases. "They seem to fit you," she giggles, "well, like a glove."

Attempting to draw the Doctor out of his pout, Rose notes, "It's awfully quiet tonight, isn't it?"

The Doctor arches an inquiring eyebrow at her. "Missing your Mum, already?"

Rose elbows him in the side. "Ha, ha, very funny, Doctor. No, I was just thinking that it's the first Christmas that we've had together that's been so quiet, usually we're surrounded by people."

"True," acknowledges the Doctor with a nod of his head. He looks at her hopefully. "Maybe next year, they'll be the pitter patter of little feet to keep us busy."

Rose looks back at him with a half smile on her face while eyeing him with suspicion. "Are you talking about children, Doctor, or those rats that we found in the attic? And why are they still there anyway, you aren't thinking of making pets out of them or using them as laboratory rats, are you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Rose!" he protests heatedly. "I don't use animals in my experiments as you well know! Besides, I meant children, _our _children, and the rats will only be staying until after New Year's." She remains silent as she stares at him quizzically. "You can't throw anyone out during the holidays, Rose, it's just not right," he explains as if keeping vermin out of the cold were a perfectly natural and logical occurrence. "If that were acceptable then I can assure you that your mother would have been over here a lot less this holiday season."

A pillow to the face is his only reply. He drops the pillow back behind his head as he ruffles his hand through his hair. "I thought that you wanted a relationship based on honesty."

She offers him a mild glare as she replies, "Yeah, but a little tact would be nice too."

"Well they do say that Christmas is full of miracles," he returns off-handedly, earning him a laughing grin in return.

Craning her neck to look behind her at their bed's canopy decorated with strings of garland and mistletoe, Rose slides her gaze over to the walls adorned with fairy lights ending with their refrigerator and tree crammed into one corner of the room and the cooking equipment that they use for camping in another. "Doctor, why is it that you put our sofa, refrigerator, and Christmas tree as well as our camping gear in our bedroom? I mean, I know that you didn't want to go to the mansion and all, but isn't this overdoing it?"

"Rose Tyler!" He draws back and throws his arms up defensively and yelps, "Smith!" as she moves to physically correct him and then he quickly adds, "How can you note something so subtle as the Eye of London and yet not realize what I am so obviously trying to accomplish here?" He lifts his hand to cradle her face and run his thumb across the apple of her cheek. "As you have so wisely noted this very evening, we are always surrounded by people." He gazes deeply into her eyes as he breathes out in a husky tone, "Tonight I just wanted to be surrounded by you." As her expression gentles, he expounds, "I went to all the trouble to have Jack come over and help me move everything in here that we could possibly need so that come morning, we wouldn't have to leave the room unless we wanted to. We have one week left before we have to go back to work, Rose, and I want to spend every last minute alone with you." Watching the smile bloom across her face, he knows that he did well. "So, is there anything else that my wife might possibly require during our enforced exile here?"

"No, nothing at all," she denies with a soft shake of her head. "There is nothing in this world that I need that isn't in this room with me right now." She links both hands behind his neck to draw him closer to her as she tells him, "You're all that I need, Doctor, you're all that I've ever needed. And if I don't say it often it enough, I love you. I love you, this one life that we have together and everything in it. Thank you so much for sharing it with me."

The Doctor gulps audibly as he tries to tap down the emotion that she seems to call forth so easily in him. "I love you too, Rose Smith, Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas, my Doctor," she whispers as she draws him to her for a kiss.

And for them, it was.

**THE END**

**Happy Holidays, everyone! :)**


End file.
